<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Baby Bird Watching by Arytra</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23658742">Baby Bird Watching</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra'>Arytra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Thunder</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baby Fic, Conner makes bad life choices, Multi, Relationships mostly background, So is Jason, The quartet are sweet though, Tommy is an idiot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:21:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,659</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23658742</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jason stops by Hayley's cafe while both Hayley and Tommy are out of town, he has a problem that Conner thinks they can handle.  Cue to calling every team they can think of for help because it turns out babies are hard.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kimberly Hart/Tommy Oliver, Merrick Baliton/Cole Evans, Trent Fernandez-Mercer/Kira Ford/Ethan James/Conner McKnight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Baby Bird Watching</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Totally took the name Hawk from Akume.  I will not apologize for my actions.  ;)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Conner leaned back in his seat, enjoying the feeling of freedom that had come with graduation.  Ethan was next to him, playing some sort of game on his computer while Kira perched herself on the back of the couch.  Trent had taken the floor in between Conner and Ethan, though he was leaning into the Conner's leg as he read the comic.  Tommy was off on some sort of teacher thing, which Conner hadn't paid attention to, while Hayley had headed toward a restaurant convention for new appliances and ideas.  Both promised to be back in a week.  In the meantime, the cafe was closed to anyone who wasn't the four of them.</p>
<p>Thus, when the quiet was broken by a rapping on the door, all four of them groaned.  “It's Kira's turn,” Conner said firmly.  She smacked his arm.</p>
<p>“I went last time.  It's Ethan's turn,” she said.</p>
<p>“No way,” Ethan said glaring at them both.  “The last time I went, you two decided to try to play my game for me.”</p>
<p>“I told them not to,” Trent said from the floor.  “And it's Conner's turn.”</p>
<p>Conner glared hard at him, but the other two seemed to decide that Conner doing it was fine with them.  He sighed and dragged himself up, heading to the door.  He glanced out to realize it wasn't someone their age and tried to hide his surprise as he opened the door.  “We're closed.”</p>
<p>“I know,” the man said.  Conner went to close the door, deciding that this guy apparently didn't know what closed meant when the man quickly stopped him.  “I know, but I need to talk to Hayley.”</p>
<p>“She's not here,” Conner said.  “Why do you need her?”</p>
<p>The man looked exhausted.  “Because I'm trying to find Tommy.”</p>
<p>“You know Doctor O?”  Conner asked.  The man nodded.  “He's out for the week too.”</p>
<p>“He's what?!”  Conner jumped back at the anger coming from the man. </p>
<p>“Uh, sorry?”  He tried.  “Look, why don't you come in and...”  As he took Conner up on that, Conner paused in what he was saying to see the man reach down and picked up an infant car seat.  “That's a baby.”</p>
<p>With that, all three of his teammates were at his side.  Trent quickly grabbed a chair for the man while the others just looked at him as he sat down and set the baby next to him.  He managed a smile at all of them.  “I'm Jason,” he said.  “You must be Tommy's Rangers.”</p>
<p>They all nodded and Ethan looked at him before his eyes widened.  Kira's followed in turn, then Conner finally recognized him.  It was Ethan who spoke first.  “You're Jason Scott!  The first Red Ranger!”</p>
<p>He nodded.  “You must be Ethan.  I'm guessing the guy who let me in is Conner,” he said, turning toward Kira and Trent.  “Which makes you Kira and you Trent.  Nice to meet all of you.”</p>
<p>“So,” Conner said.  “What do you need Doctor O for?”</p>
<p>It took Jason half a second to realize who Conner was referring to.  “I'm supposed to drop this little guy off.”</p>
<p>Conner grinned and looked at the baby.  “Is Doctor O baby-sitting?”</p>
<p>Jason gave a half laugh that could only come from someone who was exhausted.  “He's the father.”</p>
<p>All four teens just stopped and stared.  Jason gave a small smile at them before Conner spoke up.  “What?”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Jason assured them that he was more than willing to explain things, but he'd been driving all day in a car that wasn't his and apparently belonged to the first Black Ranger since his motorcycle had been deemed unsafe for a baby.  He just needed something on his stomach and a bottle for the kid.  The four quickly worked together to do both before sitting back down with him.  He tested the bottle and gave it to the baby before turning to his own dinner.  He took a couple of bites and a few sips of water before settling down.  “Hawk is Tommy's son,” he said calmly.  “His mom is the first Pink Ranger, Kimberly.”</p>
<p>“So, why do you have him?”  Conner asked.</p>
<p>“Kim and I worked for a group called SPD,” he explained.  “Kim mostly did offworld assignments and I handle in house assignments.  One of the routine missions ended up with the entire offworld team attacked.  They're alive, but Kim, Billy, Aisha, and Rocky haven't woken up.  Hawk was three weeks old.  Tommy had already almost died in the island explosion and we both knew that something else was going to show up.  I offered to take over as mentor, but Tommy was worried that Mesagog would come after him anyway.  And after Hawk.  So, I agreed to take care of him until Tommy finished being a Ranger.”</p>
<p>“And so since we're done being Rangers, Doctor O was supposed to take over and he ditched?”  Conner asked.  Jason laughed.</p>
<p>“I'm sure he just forgot it was supposed to be today,” he said.  “His memory has never been great.”</p>
<p>The four of them glanced at each other before shrugging.  Conner looked thoughtful.  “Do you think that's why he put the lab under his house?”</p>
<p>“He what?!”  Jason asked before quickly calming himself and changing the subject back, more talking to himself than the other four.  “I normally would be fine watching Hawk a bit longer, but I'm taking Antonio to Eltar so they can help him with his morphers, Zack already took Merime to Aquitar, and Adam is helping Trini out in the Amazon.  Kat and Tanya are both touring and I can't ask them to come back right now.  I can take him with me, but since Rocky went under, Antonio needs the one on one time since he’s adopted...”</p>
<p>“We can keep an eye on him,” Conner interrupted.  Not only Jason looked surprised, but his entire team did as well.</p>
<p>“Conner, have you ever even seen a baby?”  Kira demanded.  Ethan nodded to back her up and Trent just looked expectantly.</p>
<p>“Yes, I've seen a baby,” Conner said.  “Look, we can handle this and that way Jason can take Antonio to wherever.”</p>
<p>“Eltar,” Jason supplied.  Conner just gave a quick nod, but didn't seem to have been listening.</p>
<p>“We can do this,” he said and Jason watched as the others slowly began to look less skeptical.  He didn't interject again, waiting to see what they'd decide on their own.  Hawk, for his part, just seemed to watch them quietly.  Jason leaned down to the baby while the quartet talked.</p>
<p>“What do you think, Hawk?”  He asked quietly.  The baby babbled something, not quite at the age where he could talk.  Jason glanced at the four teens and gave a small smile.  These were the kids that Tommy had trusted with the world.  He looked at Hawk and then at the four again.  “Alright.”</p>
<p>They all turned and looked at him in surprised.  “What?” Ethan asked.</p>
<p>“Alright.  I'm going to trust him with you guys,” Jason said.  He handed Hawk over to Conner, it had been his idea after all, though he noticed that Conner was trying to mimic the way that Jason had held him as Hawk squirmed.  Without a word, Jason helped him readjust and gave him a reassuring smile.  “I already made up a list of what to do for Tommy, so you should be fine.”</p>
<p>They looked at each other and then back at Jason.  Conner stood to his full height.  “We can do this.”</p>
<p>“I know.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“I was wrong!  We can't do this!”  Conner squawked.  Hawk had been screeching for over an hour with the four of them trying their best to figure out what was wrong with the baby and to see if there was anything that they could do about it.  After trying everything on Jason's list, they were at a loss.  Eventually, Hawk tired himself out and fell asleep, but that didn't mean that the four sitters had calmed down.</p>
<p>“Why won't he be happy?”  Trent half-whimpered.  Ethan patted his friend's back from where he was sitting as Kira just looked morose.</p>
<p>“We tried everything on the list,” she said, not looking up.  There was silence after that until Conner looked over at Ethan who was scouring the internet.</p>
<p>“Can you find anything?”  He asked and Ethan shrugged.</p>
<p>“I'm looking, but what if it's a Power Ranger thing?”  He asked.  Conner looked a little defeated for a minute before his eyes lit up.  All three of the others missed it or they may have been able to corral him.</p>
<p>“Ethan!  You're a genius!”  Conner said.  They all looked up as Conner motioned to Ethan's computer.  “Hack into Doctor O's computer and get the numbers that Tommy has for other Rangers.  One of them has to be a parent!”</p>
<p>They were quiet for a minute before Ethan spoke up.  “You want me to hack into a system that Hayley helped set up?”</p>
<p>“You can do it,” Conner said with a nod.  Ethan glanced at his computer and then back to Conner.  He sighed and began to try to break in for the numbers.  It was easier than he would have thought, leaving him to firmly believe that Hayley had left a door open for him in case of emergencies.  The numbers were neatly organized by team.  The four of them looked at the numbers and Trent looked at Conner.</p>
<p>“Now what?”  He asked.  Conner had no idea, but he wasn't about to let that little detail escape him.  He tried to look confident.</p>
<p>“Now we call people and see what they say,” he said.  “Some of them have to be parents, right?”</p>
<p>None of the other three looked quite so confident, but all of them glanced back over at Hawk and then nodded.  It was a plan at least.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Mike looked amused as each of them looked slightly panicked.  He tried to give them reassuring looks over the visual communicator, but it was clear that it wasn't going to work.  “I was very young when Leo was a baby,” he said gently.  “I don't remember how we calmed him down.”</p>
<p>He heard the door open and glanced over to see the rest of the Galactic team standing there looking confused.  He glanced over to see that the Dino Thunder Rangers were talking among themselves and leaned toward his team.  “The newest team is dealing with Tommy Oliver's son.”</p>
<p>“Good luck,” Kai said dryly as Leo elbowed him.  He looked at his older brother.</p>
<p>“Why did they call you?”  He asked.  “And since when does Tommy have a son?”</p>
<p>“Hawk was born a little less than a year ago,” Mike said.  “They seemed surprised that we didn't know.  They were hoping I'd know what to do since I helped raise Leo.”</p>
<p>Leo looked annoyed by that, but Karone folded her arms and spoke up before he could.  “Zhane didn't tell me Tommy had a baby.”</p>
<p>“Zhane?”  Kendrix asked.  “Why not Andros?”</p>
<p>“Andros wouldn't think to say anything.  But he would have told Ashley or Zhane in passing who would have told the rest of the team and Zhane would have called to tell me.”</p>
<p>Conner finally looked away from the other Dino Thunder Rangers, blinking when he saw the others, but shrugging it off.  </p>
<p>“Do you know anyone who might know?”  He asked finally.  Kendrix and Karone both spoke at the same time.</p>
<p>“Lightspeed Rescue,” they said.  At the confused looks, Kendrix smiled.  “Captain Mitchell.”</p>
<p>“Captain Mitchell is the head of Lightspeed Rescue.  He's also the father of two of the Rangers.  Good luck,” Mike offered.  They nodded wildly and looked a little relieved.</p>
<p>“Hey!”  Leo said quickly.  “When he gets back, tell Tommy I want to know why he didn't tell us he had a kid.”</p>
<p>“You got it!”  Conner said quickly and paused.  “He didn't tell us either.”</p>
<p>“Thanks for the help!”  Ethan said before closing it.  The Lost Galaxy Rangers all looked at each other.</p>
<p>“He didn't tell them?”  Leo asked.</p>
<p>“That's not just something you forget to say,” Maya said, biting her lip.  Kai snorted.</p>
<p>“If he's smart,” he said.  “He'll never come back.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>They weren't able to contact Lightspeed Rescue right away as Hawk woke up and they were busy trying to deal with him.  They'd gotten notes from Andros' team letting them know that they'd heard from Karone and that they wouldn't be much help.  Zhane did let them know that it probably wasn't Power related though and Ashley asked for photos which Ethan sent along to her.  While none of it was particularly helpful, Zhane's information at least gave them a clue.  All of them gave the same message Lost Galaxy had:  They wanted to talk to Tommy when he got back.  A very tired Ethan assured them that as long as they yelled at him a lot for not telling them, he'd be happy to let them know the minute his mentor got in.  Finally, Hawk was back to sleep and they were able to get a hold of Lightspeed Rescue.</p>
<p>“Hello,” Carter said as he answered.  He looked at them for a minute and then nodded.  “Dino Thunder, right?”</p>
<p>“Right,” Ethan said.  “I'm Ethan, that's Conner, Trent, and Kira.”</p>
<p>“Is Captain Mitchell around?”  Conner asked.</p>
<p>“Conner!”  Kira snapped.  Trent snorted.</p>
<p>“I want sleep.  Let Conner be Conner,” he grumbled.  Carter blinked.</p>
<p>“I'll go get him,” he said and put them on hold.  </p>
<p>Kira was still giving Conner a look, but he was ignoring it.  Ethan and Trent wisely decided to stay out of it at this point unless they started yelling, but fortunately, their teammates also didn't want to wake up the baby.  Captain Mitchell came on screen, though they could still see Carter waiting in the background in case he needed to get Lightspeed going.  Conner took point before Kira could.</p>
<p>“Hi,” he said with a bit of a wave.  “Carter probably told you who we are.  Our mentor's girlfriend had a baby and went into a coma and he was trying to help us save the world, so he gave the baby to Jason who had to take Antonio to El-something so we offered to baby-sit and Hawk won't stop screaming and you're a dad, right?  So how do we get him to stop?!”</p>
<p>Both Captain Mitchell and Carter took a second or two to catch up before Captain Mitchell answer.  “Ryan and Dana's mom was better at that than I was,” he admitted.  “I was working more and she somehow managed to calm them down every time.”</p>
<p>All four of the Dino Thunder Rangers looked crestfallen.  Carter's heart went out to them as he stepped forward.  “Dana is out for the week,” he said softly.  “She's a pediatrician or I'd call her.  I don't think that Time Force is going to have much advice, but Wild Force might.  I'll get you Eric and Wes' personal line so they can help you find Cole.”</p>
<p>Conner was about to protest that they had the number, but figured that Carter calling might get them results quicker than trying to reach two active Rangers on their own.  </p>
<p>“Thanks,” he answered.  </p>
<p>Carter nodded.  “And Conner?  I'd like to talk to your mentor when he gets back.  He has my number.”</p>
<p>Conner grinned.  “Will do.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It was a quick transfer over to Wes and Eric.  Considering that neither man looked worried, the Dino Thunder Rangers figured that Carter had given a general rundown already.  Wes looked apologetic when his face appeared while Eric was less stand-offish than he was for others which all of them were taking as feeling sympathetic for them.  Kira stepped forward, having won the right to explain this round due to the firm belief by all the Dino Thunder Rangers that since Jen had led the Time Force Rangers, it only made sense for Kira to lead the conversation.</p>
<p>“I'm Kira,” she said.  “That's Conner, Ethan, and Trent.  I take it Mr. Grayson explained everything?”</p>
<p>“He did,” Wes said.  “Uh, look, Kira, I was an only child and I've barely even seen a baby and Eric...”</p>
<p>“Doesn't like babies,” Eric cut in.  “We're not the best choice.”</p>
<p>“I understand,” Kira said quickly.  “Carter suggested that you might be able to reach Cole?”</p>
<p>Wes looked visually relieved.  “We can do that.  I'll go contact him.”</p>
<p>Wes took off leaving them with Eric who just looked at them.  “Tommy had a baby?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Kira said.  Eric smirked.</p>
<p>“And he didn't tell most of the other Rangers?”  He asked, sounding amused.</p>
<p>“We didn't even know,” she admitted.  Eric's smirk died.</p>
<p>“When's he getting back?”  He asked, failing to sound casual about it.</p>
<p>“Next week,” Conner answered as Kira had looked torn between loyalty to her mentor and the need to make Tommy pay for this.  Conner had apparently lost any need to be loyal at this point.  When she saw Ethan and Trent nodding in agreement, she realized that they were all a lot more tired than they'd like to admit.  “Did you want us to have him call you?”</p>
<p>“No,” Eric answered.  “I'll take care of it.”</p>
<p>Wes came back and offered them a smile.  “Cole can meet up with you in an hour in Reefside,” he said.  “Good luck!”</p>
<p>“Thanks!”  Kira said honestly and hung up.  As she did, Wes looked over at Eric.</p>
<p>“Tommy had a kid?”  He asked.  Eric nodded.</p>
<p>“And he didn't even tell the four of them,” Eric answered.  Wes sighed and picked up the phone.</p>
<p>“Amy?  Can you move any meeting we have for next week to the week after?  I think Eric and I are going to be busy...”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Cole was waiting for them just as he had promised when they arrived.  They recognized Merrick standing a little further away and just watching everything, but none of the other Wild Force members were around.  A wolf was leaning into him as a deer pranced around a little further off.  When they glanced up, they saw an eagle looking back at them.  A tabby cat was washing its face near Merrick.  Trent leaned down and the cat came over and rubbed up against him.  He gently picked it up as he looked around.  “I understand not being able to bring a shark, but you don't have a bison?”</p>
<p>“I have a small cow,” Cole said proudly.  “But she doesn't like to leave the pond.”</p>
<p>Trent nodded and set the cat back down before taking Hawk from Ethan.  Cole walked over and smiled at the baby who was still fast asleep.  “He'll be waking up soon.  We've tried everything, but he just won't stop crying.”</p>
<p>Cole nodded.  “Maybe I can help.”</p>
<p>“Uh...” Conner said.  “Baby animals aren't baby people.”</p>
<p>“All babies want the same thing, they just have different ways of getting it,” Cole said reassuringly.  “Their hearts match.”</p>
<p>Trent looked at Conner.  “What do we have to lose?”  He asked and Conner shrugged.  Trent turned his attention back to Cole.  “What do we do?”</p>
<p>Cole motioned to the wolf.  “When he was little, he wanted his belly rubbed,” he said.  “Not too hard and not too soft.”</p>
<p>Trent nodded.  “Got it.”</p>
<p>“She liked to run.  He might be too young for that,” he said, motioning to the deer.  He looked at Hawk and then upward to the eagle in the tree.  It's feathers ruffled a bit, but he proceeded to ignore everyone.  “Maybe he's cold.  He'd cry when he was cold.”</p>
<p>Trent shrugged.  “It's worth a cry,” he admitted.  Cole headed over and lifted the cat into his arms.</p>
<p>“She wanted to be held,” he said.  “And petted.”</p>
<p>All of them nodded, though they were starting to feel a little worried about the advice at this point.  Cole smiled at all of them.  “You're doing fine,” he promised.  “He feels your love.”</p>
<p>They weren't sure the advice would work, but all of them felt a sense of relief at that.  They thanked Cole for the advice and headed home.  While it didn't stop Hawk from crying completely, they found that rubbing his stomach helped with gas.  That he slept better when he had a blanket firmly around him.  And that sometimes, he just wanted his back rubbed while someone held him.  All four Dino Thunder Rangers made a mental note to call Cole for help when they needed it outside the box.  The man was a life saver.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Even with Cole's help, Hawk was still crying a lot and they couldn't calm him.  Ethan blinked when he finally realized who they'd been missing.  “Isn't Ninja Storm's mentor Cam's dad?”  He asked.  Kira blinked.</p>
<p>“He is,” she said slowly.  “Why didn't we think of that sooner?”</p>
<p>Trent shrugged.  “I think we just ended up mostly going down the list,” he said.  Ethan sighed.</p>
<p>“I'll call Cam,” he said.  “Maybe we can fix this.”</p>
<p>He headed off, making the phone call which Cam answered.  “Hey Cam,” Ethan said.  “So, turns out Doctor O has a baby and we're trying to watch him, but Hawk just keeps screaming.  Do you know if your dad has any advice?”</p>
<p>“I'll ask,” Cam assured him and went to ask.  He came back a little bit later.  “He says he can help.  We'll be there soon.”</p>
<p>Ethan nodded.  “They're coming here,” he said as he came back out.  Considering what they knew about ninjas, none of them were surprised when the doorbell rang a little while later.  They let Tori, Dustin, Shane, Cam, and Sensei into Tommy's house and Ethan handed off Hawk to Sensei with a pleading look.  Sensei just smiled.</p>
<p>“It's been a while since Cam was this young,” he admitted.  “But let's see what I remember.”</p>
<p>Soon after, Hawk both awake and not screaming.  Sensei warned them that it was likely temporary and that they were doing fine.  That said, Doctor O couldn't come back sooner.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Tommy wasn't the first to make it back.  That honor went to Adam and Trini who had rushed to the quartet when they'd heard what happened.  Kira had opened to door when they'd knocked.  Trini gave her a quiet smile.  “I am so sorry,” she said.  “If I'd known, I would have put off my trip for a month longer.”</p>
<p>Adam gave a nod.  “Where's Hawk?”  He asked.</p>
<p>“With Conner and Ethan,” she said, motioning toward the couch.  “I'll get Trent up.”</p>
<p>“You've been sleeping in shifts?”  Trini asked as Adam headed over.  Kira nodded.</p>
<p>“He was crying a lot,” she said.  “And now that he's quiet, we all just want to sleep.”</p>
<p>“You don't have to...” she started but Kira shook her head.</p>
<p>“Trent will feel bad if I don't,” she said, heading over.  Adam, on the other hand, was holding Hawk while Conner and Ethan fell back in relief.</p>
<p>“You did a good job,” Adam said.  “Tommy will be proud of you.”</p>
<p>“You baby-proofed the house?”  Trini asked as she looked around.  Conner nodded.</p>
<p>“Jason told us what to do in his notes,” he said.  “So, Trent and Kira got everything ready.”</p>
<p>Part of Conner was a little annoyed when Hawk just curled up in Adam's arms, perfectly quiet, but apparently the man had been helping to watch Hawk since he was born.  Sensei had explained to them that part of what was upsetting Hawk was probably just the change in location and people all at once.  Adam sat down and Trini followed suit.  Trent and Kira headed back out and each sat next to their teammates.  </p>
<p>“So,” Kira said.  “Jason said that you guys are watching your friend's kids?  He said there was an accident but...”</p>
<p>Adam nodded.  “To be honest, Antonio is mostly my son as well,” he said.  “It's just that Rocky and I can't get married so he's legally Rocky's.  Billy's ex-wife is on Aquitar, but she was injured pretty heavily during the last battle with Dark Specter.  The two of them had shared custody so that Merime would know both of her parent's planets.  The Aquitian Rangers take care of her on Aquitar and we take care of her here.  Zack usually is the one who take her since the accident.  And you know about Hawk.”</p>
<p>“So, Jason takes care of Hawk, you take care of Antonio, and Zack takes care of Merime?”  Conner asked.  Trini shook her head.</p>
<p>“It's not that easy,” she said.  “We all just act as parents to all three.  Whoever can give attention, does.  And that allows for all of us to have jobs to pay for everything,” she answered.  “Kim and Billy were my best friends since we were children.  Aisha and Rocky took over for Jason and me.”</p>
<p>“I grew up with Rocky and Aisha,” Adam said softly.  “And I was a Ranger with Kim and Billy.  Jason, Zack, we were all Rangers together.  Anything we could do to help, we wanted to do.”</p>
<p>Trini smiled as she looked at Hawk.  “I think the four of you understand that,” she said.  They all nodded.</p>
<p>“So,” Conner said.  “You've known Doctor O since forever.  Why didn't he tell anyone?”</p>
<p>Trini looked a little sheepish while Adam just rolled his eyes.  They looked at each other for a minute before Trini answered.  “Did you know that Tommy started out as an evil Power Ranger?”  She asked.  When they nodded, she continued.  “When he finally became good, he eventually started to lose his powers.  We did what we could, but we couldn't stop it.  Between him turning evil and not being able to help, he became depressed.  We were young and wanted to help, so we may have made things worse.”</p>
<p>“How?”  Ethan asked.</p>
<p>“Well, Zordon saw the same and tried to put him in charge.  We believe that he had the feeling that Jason would be leaving soon and wanted to prepare a successor.  We wanted to make him feel better, so we went along with it.  We were trying to build his self-confidence.”</p>
<p>“What ended up happening,” Adam continued.  “Is that he became more and more convinced he needed to do things on his own.  When Kim left, it got worse.  He stopped listening to Billy when Billy stopped being a Ranger.  So Billy left.  He was trying to prove so hard that he could handle anything that he ended up sabotaging himself and the dinosaur thing happened.”</p>
<p>“So, if you know that,” Kira said.  “Why didn't you stop him?”</p>
<p>“Old habits,” Trini admitted.  “We were hoping Kim could get through to him and then she ended up in her coma.  We didn't want to get involved because of the children.  And our guess is, Tommy didn't want to tell the four of you because he was worried you'd try to get a hold of us if things went sour.”</p>
<p>“Which isn't right,” Adam said firmly.  “We could have answered questions without putting the kids at risk.”</p>
<p>“Adam,” Trini said gently before looking at them.  “And now a lot of younger Rangers look up to him.  He was probably worried about losing their trust and respect.”</p>
<p>“Which also isn't right,” Adam grumbled.  Trini nodded.  Conner looked sheepish.</p>
<p>“Well, everyone knows now,” he said.  Adam laughed as Trini just smiled, both of them amused.  “And everyone wants to talk to him.”</p>
<p>“Good,” Adam said.  Trini looked a little more sympathetic, but she did nod.  The rest of the night passed by rather quickly and the next morning, the key turned in the lock as Tommy headed in.</p>
<p>“Conner!”  Tommy said.  “I saw your car out front!”</p>
<p>“Hey Doctor O,” he said.  “Everyone else is in the kitchen.”</p>
<p>Tommy headed in and paused when he reached the doorway.  Trini and Adam were looking back at him and he immediately focused on Hawk.  </p>
<p>“Was that today?”  He asked, completely forgetting to greet his friends.  Ethan, Kira, and Trent quickly joined Conner's side to watch.</p>
<p>“It was last week,” Adam corrected him.  “Jason showed up at the Cyber Cafe, but you weren't there.”</p>
<p>Tommy paled.  “Where's Jason?”  He asked.  “I should...”</p>
<p>“Eltar,” Conner said from behind him, glancing at Ethan to make sure he had the name of it right.  His friend gave a subtle nod.  “He's on Eltar with Antonio.”</p>
<p>“Zack's on Aquitar with Merime,” Ethan continued.  “And Adam and Trini were in the Amazon.”</p>
<p>“Unreachable,” Adam said.  Tommy turned even whiter.</p>
<p>“Then...” he started and Trini smiled.</p>
<p>“It turns out you have some good students,” she said gently, motioning to the four Dino Thunder Rangers.  “They offered to watch Hawk until you got back.”</p>
<p>Tommy didn't look that relieved as he looked at the four of them.  It might have upset them if it wasn't for the fact that they'd learned very quickly that they had no idea what they were doing.  Conner shrugged it off.  “We handled it.”</p>
<p>“We got help,” Kira said meaningfully.</p>
<p>“From all of the other teams,” Ethan said, sounding gleeful.</p>
<p>“You have a lot of phone calls to make,” Trent finished.  “Everyone wants to know why you didn't tell them you have a baby.”</p>
<p>Tommy groaned.  Conner folded his arms.  “That includes us,” he said.  “Why didn't you tell us?”</p>
<p>Tommy looked at him.  “Did it matter?”</p>
<p>“Yes!”  All four of them said angrily.  He took a step back in surprise.</p>
<p>“We're your teammates too,” Conner said.</p>
<p>“We might have been able to help,” Ethan added.</p>
<p>“At least you would have had more people to talk to,” Kira said.</p>
<p>“Didn't you trust us?”  Trent asked.</p>
<p>Tommy looked at the ground and then back at them.  “I did trust you,” he said.  “I just...”</p>
<p>“Didn't want to burden them?”  Trini offered and Tommy nodded.  Adam groaned.</p>
<p>“You're still doing it,” he said.  “Stop trying to do everything yourself!”</p>
<p>Tommy looked ready to argue, but Trent cut in.  “You have a lot of people willing to help you.  If there's something I learned, it's that we have a big family.”</p>
<p>“Trent's right,” Kira agreed.  “Everyone was willing to help.  And it wasn't just for you, they were willing to help us before they knew it involved you.”</p>
<p>“It's good to know we have a support system,” Ethan agreed.  Conner looked at his mentor as he nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“You should use it,” he said firmly.  Tommy blinked and Trini took the opportunity to put Hawk in his arms.  She gave him a smile.</p>
<p>“Don't you think the rest of the family would like to know him?”  She asked.  “They already know Merime and Antonio.”</p>
<p>Tommy looked sheepish.  “Thank you,” he said.  “All of you.”</p>
<p>“So, uh, here's some family advice,” Conner said cheerfully.  “You might want to avoid Time Force for a bit.  Eric seems really upset you didn't tell us.”</p>
<p>Tommy closed his eyes and Adam looked amused.  “Didn't Jason tell me that you lectured him on trusting your team at one point?  Even those younger than you?”</p>
<p>“I might have,” Tommy admitted.  “I probably should have just let Jason do it.”</p>
<p>Trini walked over and pulled Tommy into a hug.  “We love you.  But you're on your own for this one.”</p>
<p>Adam nodded, heading toward the door.  “Good luck.  Jason's notes on how to take care of Hawk are on the fridge.”</p>
<p>“You think I need notes on how to take care of my own son?”  Tommy asked and the quartet laughed.</p>
<p>“Oh, this is going to be a fun week,” Conner said gleefully, heading toward the door.</p>
<p>“Yeah, good luck, Doctor O,” Ethan said, quickly following.</p>
<p>“Trust me,” Kira said.  “Read his notes, the notes we got from Cole, and Sensei Watanabe's notes.”</p>
<p>As she followed, Trent just looked at his former teacher.  “You know how we have a formerly evil moments?”  He asked and Tommy nodded.  “This is one of them.”</p>
<p>He didn't say anything else, but the laughter was almost dark as he headed out of the house toward his friends.  Tommy just looked at Hawk.  “I'm not sure what they're so worried about...” he started when Hawk started bawling.  Tommy just stared at the baby and then back outside where he could hear the cars taking off.  Tommy just looked at the baby and tried to calm him down.  It took him a half hour before he lost his pride and looked at the notes.  Two before the phone calls from the other teams began.  And four before Eric and Wes headed up the drive.</p>
<p>Eric opened his mouth as Tommy just looked at him.  “Help?”  He asked.  Wes and Eric both paused, looking over the frantic man and Wes smiled.</p>
<p>“Sure,” he said reassuringly and leaned over to Eric.  “Call the other Rangers.”</p>
<p>“On it,” Eric agreed.  Within the hour, all four Dino Thunder Rangers were back, reinforcements had been called in, and everyone was getting to meet the baby.  Trent headed back to his mentor who glared at him.</p>
<p>“I think you infected your teammates,” he grumbled and Trent smiled.</p>
<p>“I think you asked for help,” he said and Tommy paused and then nodded.</p>
<p>“You're right,” he said.  “And thank you for coming back.”</p>
<p>“No problem,” Trent assured him.  “We were going to come back tonight anyway.”</p>
<p>“You were?”  Tommy asked.</p>
<p>Trent nodded.  “We thought you might need us,” he answered.  He looked around at the busy house.  “But it's nice that other people were able to come too.”</p>
<p>Tommy wrapped an arm around Trent and gave him a quick hug before heading back into the other room with everyone else who were passing around Hawk.  Tommy gently took the baby and looked at everyone.  “Guys,” he said.  “This is Hawk.  Hawk, this is your family.”</p>
<p>He promised to show him off to the Rangers who couldn't make it, but the rest of them were busy helping out.  He met Adam's eyes and the other Ranger just nodded his approval and Trini smiled.  It hadn't been the ideal way to go about it, but Tommy's forgetful memory finally had had some use.  It had forced him to remind himself that he had family he could count on.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>